Vegan oyakodon is a plant-based rendition of the Japanese chicken and egg rice bowl. It’s comforting and savoury and so simple to make!
Oyakodon is a type of Japanese donburi that translates to “mother and child”–referring to the chicken and egg used in this dish. I find this kind of morbid, but I guess that’s why I’m vegan in the first place. Obviously I am using plant-based versions of chicken and egg. I am also modifying the cooking technique to adjust to those particular ingredients.
Vegan Alternatives for Oyakodon
There are three major components you must replace for vegan oyakodon:
Chicken: I use Butler’s Soy Curls instead of chicken. I always have some stored in the freezer (I buy them in bulk from Coven Market, and store in the fridge). All you need to do is rehydrate in some hot water and stock powder. The stock powder is optional but I find it better infuses some flavour.
Eggs: For this I use JUST Egg liquid, which scrambles quite nicely. In traditional oyakodon, the egg is only partially cooked so it’s a little jiggly. While I imagine this makes for a very delicate and fluffy dish, we can’t do that with vegan egg scramble. So I adjust the cooking method to cook the vegan egg first, then add the dashi broth afterwards.
I haven’t tested this recipe using any other vegan egg replacer, so please do not substitute and expect the same results. Many egg replacements use chickpea flour and that can be really mushy and absorbent. It may also yield a potato-y/grainy texture. If you can find it, please use JUST Egg.
An alternative to JUST Egg is silken tofu, as it has a similar jiggly mouthfeel the original egg would have. It simply wouldn’t bind the dish components together like egg would.
Dashi: There are various vegan-friendly dashi packets but I only have been able to find them at one particular Korean market in Mississauga (PAT mart on Dundas). Each packet contains about 1 tbsp of dashi stock powder, and the flavours are either mushroom or kelp based. If you can’t find vegan dashi packets, feel free to substitute 1 tbsp mushroom broth powder (one version is pictured below).
Recipe Notes:
Traditionally oyakodon doesn’t have any cabbage. For this version of vegan oyakodon, I’ve added cabbage. I find the texture is too dense and firm without it. Since chicken eggs can be partially cooked, it yields a softer texture in the final dish. For the vegan egg, we must cook it thoroughly. This yields a firmer well-done scramble texture, so I like to break this up using Taiwanese flat cabbage.
I use soup soy sauce (by Sempio brand). From what I can tell, soup soy sauce tends to be a bit saltier and has a lighter colour. This way it doesn’t affect the colour of the dashi broth as much. Feel free to use whatever soy sauce you have. Add more soy sauce if you would like it saltier.
Vegan Oyakodon (Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl)
Ingredients
- 75 g dried soy curls hydrated with hot water and some broth seasoning (about half a bag)
- 1 tbsp mushroom broth powder
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 cups cabbage sliced (I used Taiwanese flat cabbage)
- 1 small onion or 2 shallots sliced
- 1/2 tsp black pepper optional
- 1 cup vegan liquid egg I used JUST egg liquid
For the sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 packet of vegan dashi stock or 1 tbsp vegan mushroom broth granules/powder
- 2 tbsp soy sauce I used a soy sauce specifically for soup
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tsp sugar
To serve
- 2 sprigs green onions finely diced
- 1 cup dry rice prepared in a rice cooker according to manufacturer's instructions
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, rehydrate the dried soy curls with enough hot water to cover and then add 1 tbsp of broth seasoning to impart extra flavour. Let rehydrate for about 10 minutes to soften before draining and squeezing out the excess water.75 g dried soy curls, 1 tbsp mushroom broth powder
- In a large pan over medium heat, saute the cabbage and onion with some vegetable oil until tender (about 5 minutes)1 tbsp vegetable oil, 2 cups cabbage, 1 small onion or 2 shallots
- Add the rehydrated soy curls to the pan, and stir fry to heat them through.75 g dried soy curls
- Pour the liquid vegan egg mixture and black pepper over everything and quickly stir to coat everything. Then let sit to cook so it makes a rough omelette, flipping in sections once browned and cooked through.1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 cup vegan liquid egg
For the sauce
- Combine water, dashi stock, soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar and mix well1/2 cup water, 1 packet of vegan dashi stock, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sake, 1 tsp sugar
- Once the eggy mixture in the pan has cooked through, add the sauce to heat through and then turn off the heat.
To serve
- Garnish with green onions, then serve over steamed white rice!2 sprigs green onions, 1 cup dry rice
Katy says
I used to love this meal, I never considered trying to make it vegan!
Lisa says
Loved this, Lisa—thank you! I’ll definitely be making it again.
Pat Handley says
Love this recipe! Thanks! Made it a second time tonight with homemade mung bean eggs instead of Just Egg and it turned out great.
Summer H. says
This was so so so good, and really quick to make on top of it! I haven’t had anything comparable to this and I’m excited to have this recipe as a new go to. Thank you 🫶🫶
Abeer says
This turned out to be so delicious, and the sauce is so flavorful and perfect! I didn’t have Justegg and soy curls where I live, so i just used an egg replacement made from mung beans and used medium firm fried tofu instead of curls and it still turned out so yummy. Thank you for sharing this recipe :))